Pegau Cuvée Réservée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge 1998
Well within its drinking window the 1998 Pegau Cuvée Réservée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge shows just a touch of bricking in the glass. It unfurls revealing the sort of olfactive charm one might expect from this producer—raspberry coulis, garrigue, loamy soil, leather, and multiflorous layers of dried rose petal and lavender. It’s medium bodied, with an intensity […]
In search of the hidden harmonies between Rhône Valley wines and Asian Cuisine
Like any great operatic singer, Rhône wines have range. They can be muscular and profound with a black-fruited core that ripples through a percussion background of pitch-perfect tannins, acidity, and that earthy, smokey feralness that lets you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’re drinking something Old World—something with history and roots thrust […]
Alain Jaume & Fils Rasteau Les Valats 2015
Soft, plummy and plush, the 2015 Alain Jaume & Fils Rasteau Les Valats offers ample drinking pleasure. On opening, black cherries, ripe Damson plums, cedar, sweet tobacco and menthol. The palate takes its cues from the nose, with a uniform profile—juicy black fruit cozened in velvety, ripe tannins and tempered acidity. This is a wine […]
Domaine Amido Lirac 2014
A splendidly perfumed nose that is so classic of Grenache: raspberry pastis, market strawberries, forest floor, black licorice candy, violets, and warm spice. The 2014 Domaine Amido Lirac is fresh and vibrant on the palate, with a sweet-fruited raspberry turnover core supported by ultra-fine tannins. The finish, while not lengthy, offers bay leaf and spice. […]
Alain Voge Les Vieilles Vignes Cornas 2014
Crafted from 60 year-old biodynamically farmed Syrah, Alain Vogue’s Les Vieilles Vignes Cornas 2014 is expressive, yet restrained. Blueberries and blackberries wind ’round earth, black olive, and pink peppercorn. As its opens, secondary aromas emerge: clove, cinnamon bark, cardamom, lanolin, spice, violets, incense. It’s poised, with all of the power Syrah commands, but there is […]
M. Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Les Granits Blanc 2015
M. Chapoutier’s Saint-Joseph Les Granits Blanc 2015 opens with a smoky undertow that burns off like morning fog to reveal denser aromas of mandarin orange, lemon curd, poached pear, and a base note of grilled pineapple. In the mouth, this 100% Marsanne is round, silky, and wonderfully expressive—orchard fruit and orange pastille are enlivened by […]
E. Guigal Château d’Ampuis Côte-Rôtie 2012
Seductive aromas of sous bois, mushroom, brambly forest fruit, cloves, cardamom, and violets, or perhaps an elusive note of heliotrope flow from the glass. Of note, Guigal’s 2012 Château d’Ampuis is slightly lighter in body than the typical Cote-Rotie, but the intensity and palate tension is there—a framework of fine tannins and taught acidity that […]
Ferraton Pere & Fils Côtes du Rhône Samorëns Blanc 2016
A winsome blend of 60% White Grenache and 40% Clairette grown in clay lime soils, the 2016 Ferraton Pere & Fils Côtes du Rhône Samorëns Blanc has a subtle nose of pear and dried yellow apple, followed by a lilting top note of jasmine. It’s soft on entry, with flavors that match the nose, save […]
Yves Cheron Les Dentelles Côtes du Rhône 2015
I wanted to find a little more concentration of fruit at the core of this otherwise easy-drinking blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Syrah from Yves Cheron. The 2015 ‘Les Dentelles’ sports a classic Southern Rhône profile of plums and blackberries couched in garrigue, warm spice, and dried violet. It’s bright on the palate, not […]
Clos du Joncuas Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret Domaine de la Garancière 2015
From organically farmed old-vine Grenache, with a smidge of Carignan and Cinsault. The 2015 Domaine la Garancière Seguret radiates black fruit on the nose—a bit deceptive because the true red-fruited character of Grenache comes through on the palate. Layered flavors of raspberry turnover, roasted strawberries, and a suggestion of black blackstrap molasses dissolves into chewy […]